Providence Decides to be Brave
by Inudaughter Returns
Summary: Providence is minor character I created within the Hey Arnold universe. In this experimental, fic, I have her try to go outside of her usual box and face her fears about... just about everything. Providence puts effort into accomplishing stuff through action.
1. Chapter 1

**This story involves a new character named Providence, whom is Eugene's new friend and is featured in my story, "Crane Game Obsession."**

"Hm, hm, hm," an overly cheerful boy's voice hummed. A crop of red, puffy, curly hair showed between the shelves of a local store. Eugene tipped his shoulders side to side in a sort of self-congratulatory dance. As unlikely as it was, he pulled a brand-new wrapped copy of a video game off the shelf and walked it to the counter to purchase it.

"I'd like to purchase this game, please," Eugene said with his most amiable of voices. Then he power stepped out of the store with his rustling plastic bag. Outside the door, he nearly tripped over his own sandals as one on of toes folded funny, but Eugene righted himself, then continued on his way, videogame and store brand bag intact. He swung his arms and strutted down the street.

Eugene's predetermined destination might have had something to do with his mediocre luck, for he soon came to a lovely, freshly painted, old two-story home in Hillwood. It was not far from Lila's house but much better looking. The reason was the repairmen who even now were working on a pair of wooden shutters on the side of the historic home. They had taken them down to be repainted and now, they were only just lifting them up to be reset in place. At a thankfully far distance from them, Eugene stopped on the front stoop of the house to ring the doorbell with incident to any of the men, their paint, or their ladders.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!" the doorbell sounded out. The door popped open and a head popped out.

"Ding-dong?" a girl with a lovely voice quoted the door as she glanced out of her front door. "Oh! Eugene! Did you get the game?"

"I sure did!" Eugene held the wrinkly, plastic shopping bag aloft, elation on his face. "I found exactly the game you were looking for, Providence!"

Eugene stepped lightly through the front door onto a cute, fuzzy, welcome mat in the shape of teddy bear- albeit a flat one. She crossed her wrists modestly in front of herself and blinked once at Eugene before regarding her friend with joy. After she had moved here from another part of Hillwood, she had met Eugene and they had become good friends.

"I'll set up the game station!" Providence uttered before walking gracefully into the living room of her house. At the arched entrance to the living room, she took the plastic bag with the brand new video game in it from Eugene's hand. The boy immediately fell over on a broken sandal. Providence finished loading the brand new video game into her game station, took up the controller, then glanced over to regard Eugene's prostate position on the floor.

"Oh!" she remarked without especial excitement. "Did you fall down, Eugene?"

"Fall down?" Eugene laughed. "No! Of course not! The floor just needed a hug, that's all!" Eugene pushed himself up and joined his friend Providence on the couch.

"I like the game," Providence said, drifting into it. Her thumbs jammed the game controller at a furious pace. Her eyes took on a serious focus as she endeavored to pass the current level."

"Meep, meep, meep! Sproing!" Providence relaxed again the couch as the game screen turned to text boxes. She lay the controller on her knees and relaxed one hand against the cushions.

"It's a really good game, Eugene," Providence remarked. "Thank you for picking it up for me."

"Oh well, I used the money you gave me for it!" Eugene shrugged with modesty. "And I thought I'd say hello since I've been busy around town all week."

"With clog-dance lessons?" Providence asked, her long, dark braided hair cast back over her shoulders. "And your other friends?" There was tiny touch of sadness there as Providence mentioned her other friends. She was reliant that someone came to visit her, instead.

"Oh, come on now!" Eugene flustered, his chest swollen with his own optimism. "They don't bite. Most of them, anyway. I'm sure they would be happy to let you play with us."

"Well," Providence said thinking deeply as she twitched one end of a braid. "I'll think about it. But I don't really wanna play sports. But I would like to meet them all. Outside of school." She forced her frown into a smile.

"Oh, well you'll have plenty of chance to get to know them in school as well!" Eugene uttered with pure honesty. "Don't worry, Providence! They are some of the nicest people I know!"


	2. Chapter 2

By nice, Eugene actually meant his classmates other than Helga, who, currently had welcomed the Monday by socking a man dressed in a mascot animal costume so the mask head was whirled the wrong way around. She lifted a heavy textbook up with both hands to make a menacing gesture which could not, in anyway, be comforting to Providence.

"Now get out of here!" Helga snapped at the man in a bunny costume, wielding her large book. "Before I learn 'ya!"

"Helga!" Arnold hastened across the blacktop to grab her by the hand and pull her away. Eyes vexed, he hissed. "He was only trying to hand out balloons. See?" Arnold pointed to a large stall behind him. But Helga glared from behind her book.

"I still say getting my shoulder tapped by some WEIRDO in pink cotton is disturbing. Let's get outta here."

"Are you sure you don't want a balloon?" Arnold inquired. "I could get you one."

"What for?"

"I dunno. It's some sort of P.R. thing, I guess."

"Actually, it's a parent fundraiser," Phoebe muttered out with a cluster of three balloons in either hand. She handed some to Gerald, whom had been a wandering companion at her side.

"Huh," Helga remarked, calming. "There's been an awful lot of those lately."

"It's for sports equipment," said Phoebe.

"Yeah, me and Phoebe are unofficial assistant equipment managers!" Gerald spoke up with pride as he stuck out his chest.

"Yes," Phoebe stated mildly. "But Helga, you really shouldn't try striking my father despite the unusual costume he's wearing."

"Huh?!" Helga dropped her book and gaped as Phoebe's Dad unscrewed his bunny helmet to take it off. But he smiled softly at his daughter's best friend and their frequent houseguest.

"I should have had speed enough to block that punch," Kyo Heyerdahl said.

"Ugh. I'm sorry Mr. Heyerdahl! I had no idea!" Helga gushed and entreated.

"I am unharmed," Kyo said. "I will try not to startle you again." Helge wrenched her head up and down in an embarrassed nod.

"I would say to you, it is unwise to act impulsively. But it is equally true that action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." Helga stared up at her best friend's father with a puzzled look. But Providence, next to Eugene absorbed her words with a great deal of thought. She twiddled her thumbs, then approached Helga and Arnold.

"Um, hi!" she said alerting Gerald and Phoebe's attention to her as well. I'm Providence, in the same class as you? I thought that maybe we could all sit at lunch together?"

"Oh, the newb," Helga said sarcastically. "Alright, sit in the chair beside Phoebe only don't get too friendly with her. She's MY best friend, capisce?"

"Helga," Arnold muttered mildly. "Providence, I'm sure we'd like you to sit and chat with us." Helga's eyes narrowed. Arnold was being too friendly with the newcomer so she shot her arm around his elbow in a tight lock and walked them both three steps away.

"Well, anyway we'll be seeing you. Later!" Helga called back as she shuffled Arnold far, far away from the newest eye candy of Hillwood. Arnold had been five seconds away from another crush, perhaps. Helga was horrible and Arnold confused, but at least it left Providence alone with Gerald and Phoebe for a more calm discussion.

"Do you like sports?" Gerald asked still holding a balloon for the sport's team fundraiser.

"No," Providence shook her head. "But I like balloons. May I have one?"

"Of course!" Gerald placed the balloon string in Providence's hand so that she could have the fun of holding it. "Would you ever consider coming to WATCH a game?" Gerald plied with salesman's zeal.

"Maybe," Providence said timidly. "But what if it rains? Or the ball goes too far and falls on my head?" She clutched the balloon end with fear.

"Oh, that would never happen!" Eugene grinned. "Or if it did, we'd work around and not let it get us down! After all, I've had lots of head injuries before!" the boy pointed to his skull.

"Er, maybe you should not play sports so much," Providence cringed. "They sound scary."

"Not as much as being flabby and out of shape!" Gerald grinned. "Come on, girl, you can give it a try! There's our sports-olympic-at-school week coming up and we have all sorts of sports to choose from! Basketball, basketball, football, track! You can even sign out some badminton rackets or frisbies to use if you like!" Gerald showed the dark-skinned toned girl a clipboard and a bright green, plastic frisbee. But she looked at them uncertainly.

"I dunno. I don't really think sports are my thing."

"Aw that's okay, then," Gerald said with modest disappointment. But Eugene was feeling the exact opposite of his friend about it.

"Sign me up!" Eugene lunged to the clipboard. He studied one such clipboard, then another. "I love sports! I want to do all of them!"

"Yeah, we'll get back to you on that," Gerald said with distaste for what Eugene's jinx might to to any sports equipment under his care. "How do you'll feel about running track?"

"You'll come watch me, won't you Providence?" Eugene mumbled with excitement. 'I'll invite all my friends! Sheena. And Arnold. And of course, you guys, too!" Eugene said of Gerald and Phoebe.

"Oh, we'll already be there," Phoebe said rearranging her glasses. "In the capacity of assistants. We'll be managing the water coolers."

"We sure will!" Gerald beamed. "I'll get to get out of my classes every afternoon for a week for this! It's like a dream come true!"

"Oh, wow. It sounds great!" Eugene exclaimed, his expression giddy with delight. But Providence cringed as if she could already hear the sound of an ankle getting broken.

 **Will Providence participate in the week ahead? Not likely.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A short little end to a short little fic. I invented some fun for everyone based on things I've seen people do here and there. My thought especially is that is that if ever there would be a father who helped out at school, it'd be Phoebe's dad so we'll see him again briefly, as well as in the previous chapter.**

One thing Providence did not feel comfortable with was sports. All of them. And so, when she arrived at P.S. 118 to see a banners of triangular, multicolored, festive flags hung across the front entrance, she grimaced before entering the school's twin doors. Cautiously, she walked past boys throwing beanie bags at one another and into Mr. Simmon's classroom. As yet, all of the older, more established classroom residents were there, like Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, Harold, and Rhonda. Even Lila was giggling with Sheena instead of paying attention to her. So she sat demurely in the one open, vacant seat near the back and rested her math book on her lap with a subtle, mildly anxious frown. But to her happiness, Lorenzo turned towards her with an expression of welcome from her left, and Eugene a right smile on her right. Her uneasy look evaporated.

"Okay, class!" Sid said, wearing a fake mustache on his lower lip as he pointed to the board with chalk. "Today's questions are one and three! Forget all the other ones!" The bell rang and Mr. Simmons pressed through the open door.

"Ha,ha, Sid!" the teacher said taking the chalkboard eraser from the chagrined boy. "That's enough of that! Please take your seat! Ahem. Now class. We will have our regular lessons until lunchtime. After that, you should all report to the school auditorium. The instructors will explain to you all our very exciting, 'School Sports Week!' And any of you who thinks they can just sneak away home, forget about it. Participation is mandatory."

The students all bent their heads down to their tasks with purpose. Grammar quizzes would not fill themselves in. Math homework could not file itself. And so they shuffled with office-work like precision.

"Hm, at least the boys seem more motivated than usual today," Helga observed as she and Arnold scribbled on a piece of paper with a pencil. It seemed that Arnold had not heard. But once the boy was finished inscribing a sentence, Arnold found an old, recently graded and returned test paper to show to Helga. A tiny paper approximation of a chocolate bar hung in the top right corner beside the 92/100 score.

"I think that's because Mr. Simmons has started using scratch and sniff stickers for all scores over eighty," Arnold explained. He looked at his fake, chocolate-scented picture of a candy bar. And yet, the boy's approval of reward sticker was flat and mild. "It's kind of nice," Arnold said as one might when receiving boring socks at Christmas. But Harold, overhearing, was much more enthusiastic about his 80/100 paper.

"Yeah! Smells like chocolate!" Harold said biting off the corner of the page with the sticker and chewing it. Arnold watched Harold chew and swallow his own homework with quiet dismay.

"Ah, here's the lunch bell now!" Mr. Simmons declared, looking up at the clock as the familiar dismissal rang out. "And remember class, after lunch period, we will all meet up at the auditorium, not the classroom!" Mr. Simmons said cheerfully.

At the end of lunch, Helga sucked the last few drops out of apple juice box and hoop shot it into a trash can. She strolled alongside Phoebe toward the auditorium. Down the hall, Gerald and Arnold did exactly the same thing, speaking "boy speak" among themselves. The four, and many other of their classmates, walked straight into the auditorium. But at the nearby exit doors to the school, teachers intercepted students who, like Iggy, tried in vain to sneak out the doors instead of going to the auditorium. Curly, lain flat against the floor, managed to creep by Principal Wartz as the portly man caught Iggy, only to sneak back in again for no apparent reason, all while wearing a wild grin. And yet despite the teacher's efforts, a few girls got away with this flagrant hookey.

But such actions would not be gotten away with in the long run, for as Arnold and his classmates arrived at the auditorium, Mr. Simmons flagged them down and handed them all out folders with a checklist of activities to do.

"Here! Your passport to fun!" the man said proudly. "You can attend each event at your leisure, but you must have the instructor for each activity sign the sheet for your participation. There is plenty of room to record your scores, too, if you wish to! Before the end of the week you must participate in a total of ten activities total!" Mr. Simmons said holding up his hands to give visual demonstration to that number. "If you participate in two per afternoon, you will be done in no time!"

"What if we're done early?" Lila Sawyer asked politely, as she, too, had arrived. Helga tilted her head sideways to listen to her answer.

"Well, then, you can always participate in an activity again for fun!"

"Um-herr," was Helga's comment of neutrality as she cracked up her folder full of white paper sheets to read them.

Helga and even Lila probably would be fine with all these things. But Providence was not. She walked through the auditorium door reluctantly, was handed a folder and sat down in a chair just as the auditorium lights were switched off. All she might do now was listen as Principal Wartz explained all that Mr. Simmons had in more detail.

* * *

Rhonda was incredibly good at hula hoop. So she walked into a chalk-lined square on the playground blacktop and finished that event under the school nurse's direction. The school nurse signed her paper with a slender smile and Rhonda looked down at the sheet with victory.

"Just nine more events to go!" Rhonda declared before she and Nadine rushed off to the next station.

* * *

Arnold and Sid warmed up to try their attempts at a long jump. Stinky Peterson easily bested them. Phoebe and Gerald helped the teachers by passing out paper cups full of cold water to all of the kids, regardless of whether or not they splashed themselves on themselves or one another instead of drinking them. Baseball throwing practice, disk throws, and soccer drill challenges were all underway elsewhere, and yet Providence quivered on the sidelines. Mr. Simmons noticed the girl quaking on the sidelines.

"Providence?" he asked of the new student. "Are you okay? Do you need a drink? Do you need to sit down? How many events have you participated in today?"

"None," was the girl's surprising answer.

"None?"

"None at all," was Providence's shamed reply. Returning from one of the sports activities, Eugene overheard this. He hurried forward to arrive more swiftly by Providence's side.

"Oh, I'm certain we can make up for lost time, soon!" said Eugene. As a mollified Mr. Simmons walked away, he spoke to his new friend.

"Look, Providence!" Eugene encouraged her. "Let's both go over to the four-square ball court for a rousing game! Whattaya say?"

"I don't know…" the girl said uncertainly. But she followed Eugene to the area. She and Eugene stood opposite a team of scruffy boys. But when the boy bounced a ball in her direction, she dodged instead of hitting it back.

"Uh, Providence," Eugene said uncertainly. "You're supposed to bounced it back. Like this, see?" He demonstrated. Providence fidgeted.

"Let's try another game, she said walking off. So they walked over to hula hoops. Providence picked of the hoops up and dangled it off her finger. Again, Eugene demonstrated.

"You whirl it around your waist like this, see?" Eugene said. But Providence decided in her mind that the hula hoop was akin to a noose. She set it back down on the ground.

"Let's try something else," she said. So they walked over to the baseball field. Providence put on a glove and picked up a ball.

"Atta girl, Providence!" Eugene sang her praises. Providence lobbed the ball and it veered far left to fall within two feet.

"Aw, maybe I'm just not cut out for sports," Providence frowned at herself. She shuffled off to sit on a bench with her knees drawn up. Phoebe and Gerald, still manning the water table, noticed her.

"Is something wrong?" Phoebe asked, coming over to observe her new classmate. Providence looked down at her feet.

"I dunno," said the girl. "I've never done most of these things before. I don't think I'd be good at them." Phoebe and Gerald looked at one another.

"The point of all this is to have fun," said Gerald. "No one is going to judge you for your results."

"Well, if you're really sure," said Providence.

"Hm," said Eugene thinking. "Let's go over to the hurdles they've set up! I can't wait to try those!" So the girl followed after Eugene. Mr Simmons was here holding a enormous flag to start races with.

"Are you ready to go?" the teacher asked as Eugene crouched at a starting position. Providence mimicked him, crouching on her hands at the start of another running lane.

"Okay! When I wave the flag, go!" their instructor commanded. He swung the flag and Eugene sprinted. Eugene leapt over a hurdle without injury. But Providence got up to the first hurdle and stopped.

"Hop over it! Hop over it!" Mr. Simmons coaxed. Providence tried to, but she overbalanced as she landed and fell in the dust. A few of the mean kids pointed and laughed at her for falling over.

"Eeeie!" Providence exclaimed before scurrying to hide under some of the playground equipment.

"Ah, Providence?" Gerald, Eugene, and Phoebe found her. "Are you alright?"

"No!" Providence sulked. "I'm not good at any of these things! I don't know how! And besides, they can be scary!"

"Scary? Scary how?"

"Well, I might have sprained my ankle! Or torn my clothes! A lot of bad things MIGHT have happened."

"To Eugene maybe," Gerald spoke soundly. "But you're a lucky kid. I have trouble imagining too much ill luck happening to you. But even if it did, you could always get some new threads!"

"Oh, don't worry about those kids laughing!" spoke Phoebe. "Although they bother me, too! I've learned to at least try to ignore them. Otherwise, you won't have fun!"

"Sports are fun?" asked Providence, twiddling her fingers.

"Well, what things are fun to you?" asked Phoebe.

"Well, puzzle games. And video games. And cross word puzzles. Things like that."

"Well, let's make this easier for you! Let's just start you off with something simple. Here, Phoebe and I will show you how to jump rope. You'll like that." Soon, Providence was skipping at a very leisurely pace.

"Like this?" she asked.

"Yes! You're doing great!" exclaimed Gerald, trying to promote her confidence. But then Rhonda and Nadine came along.

"Oh, great! Jump rope! Just what we needed… one last activity to fill our quota. Let's do it Nadine!" Rhonda declared. She and Nadine clapped their hands, crouched low as they skipped, and genuinely showed off. As they left, Providence looked down at her feet.

"I knew I wasn't good at any of these things!" she declared sadly.

"Oh, don't get discouraged when you're up against a master!" advised Gerald trying to bring her back again. "Let's try to just get you through the assignment, fun or not. Let's try hula hoops!" He and Phoebe led her away to try them.

Over the next few days Providence tried and failed at most of the games they tried to play. But a creeping something began to occur. A little something called improvement. Instead of missing all her shots at basketball she sunk one. At bobbing apples, she caught one, and when playing four-square ball she surprised everyone by batting the ball past Gerald no less.

"There you go!" Gerald smiled. "I think you're getting a hang of this now."

"Yes, you're right Gerald!" the girl said with a bright smile. "I wasn't sure at first, but… I am learning new things. And I don't know but… maybe they might even be fun!"

"Well, you never know what you'll get until you try!" Gerald said spinning the playground ball they had been using on the tip of his finger before tossing it forward to catch it. "And there's only a few more things you need to do to finish your assignment for the week! Only two more activities to go!" Gerald said holding up two digits. Providence fished her eyes around, thinking.

"Well, you know. Maybe we can play four-square ball again, sometime. After the school sports week is over."

"A righteous idea, my sister!" beamed Gerald. Phoebe and Gerald smiled at one another. They had made a convert after all.

Back at the auditorium, Helga handed her folder full of stamped and signed papers over to one of the instructors to receive an approving nod and a ribbon for participation from Phoebe's father. So did all the other kids in the line, like Arnold, Stinky, and Harold. Providence was last to turn her folder in, but when she did so, she stopped to gaze upon her ribbon in awe as she dangled it in front of her nose.

"Wow!" she smiled brightly. "I did it! I really did it!"

"Yes, you did, young lady!" Principal Wartz agreed with her. "Which just goes to show we have the finest of students here at P.S. 118! And the most exemplary principal!" Mr. Wartz said, posturing with pride.

But it didn't really matter if Principal Wartz was being lofty again. The students all had ribbons to celebrate the occasion with and some of them went back to play their favorite games one more time before the final school bell of the week. The end.


End file.
